Trump's border czar suggests a possible drawdown in Minnesota, but only
after ‘cooperation’
[January 30, 2026]
By GIOVANNA DELL'ORTO and REBECCA SANTANA
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Trump administration could reduce the number of
immigration enforcement officers in Minnesota, but only if state and
local officials cooperate, the president's border czar said Thursday,
noting he has “zero tolerance” for protesters who assault federal
officers or impede the ongoing Twin Cities operation.
Tom Homan addressed reporters for the first time since the president
sent him to Minneapolis following last weekend's fatal shooting of
protester Alex Pretti, the second this month by federal officers
carrying out the operation. His comments came after President Donald
Trump seemed to signal a willingness to ease tensions in the Minneapolis
and St. Paul area and as the administration ended its “enhanced
operations” in Maine.
Homan, who said he wouldn't address the shootings, emphasized that the
administration isn't relenting on its immigration crackdown and warned
that protesters could face consequences if they interfere with federal
officers.
But he seemed to acknowledge there had been missteps.
“I do not want to hear that everything that’s been done here has been
perfect. Nothing’s ever perfect,” he said.
A possible downsizing
Homan hinted at the prospect of pulling out many of the roughly 3,000
federal officers taking part in the operation, but he seemed to tie that
to cooperation from state and local leaders and a reduction in protester
interference.
“The drawdown is going to happen based on these agreements," he said.
"But the drawdown can happen even more if the hateful rhetoric and the
impediment and interference will stop.”
He also said he would oversee internal changes in federal immigration
law enforcement, but he gave few specifics.
“The mission is going to improve because of the changes we’re making
internally,” he said. “No agency organization is perfect. And President
Trump and I, along with others in the administration, have recognized
that certain improvements could and should be made.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told reporters in Washington on Thursday he
was “hopeful” that the number of federal officers in the city would be
reduced. He said police would do their jobs but not “somebody else's,”
referring to federal law enforcement.
Despite Trump softening his rhetoric about Minnesota officials — he said
this week they were on a “similar wavelength” — there has been no
visible sign of any big changes to the operation. On Thursday, as the
Justice Department charged a man accused of squirting vinegar on
Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, a smattering of protesters braved the frigid
temperatures to demonstrate outside of the federal facility that has
been serving as the operation's main hub.
Pretti, 37, was fatally shot Saturday during a scuffle with the Border
Patrol. Earlier this month, 37-year-old Renee Good was shot in her
vehicle by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
A plea for cooperation
Homan doubled down on the need for jails to alert ICE to inmates who
could be deported, saying transferring such inmates to the agency is
safer because it means fewer officers have to be out looking for people
in the country illegally.
The White House has long blamed problems arresting criminal immigrants
on so-called sanctuary jurisdictions, a term generally applied to state
and local governments that limit law enforcement cooperation with the
Department of Homeland Security.
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A federal agent approaches a vehicle on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in
Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Homan reiterated that, saying, “Give us access to illegal aliens,
public safety threats in the safety and security of a jail.”
But Minnesota officials say this is already happening.
“At best, DHS fundamentally misunderstands Minnesota’s correctional
system,” Paul Schnell, chief of the state Department of Corrections,
told reporters last week, pushing back against the federal
narrative. “At worst, it is pure propaganda.”
State prisons, he noted, always honor “detainers,” or federal
requests to hold an arrested immigrant until agents can take custody
of them.
“This occurs every time without exception,” he said, noting that
“the vast majority,” of the state’s county sheriffs also cooperate
with immigration authorities about immigrants in their jails.
Some do not, including the jails in Hennepin County, which serves
Minneapolis, and Ramsey County, which serves St. Paul. However, both
do hand over inmates to federal authorities if an arrest warrant has
been signed by a judge.
A targeted approach to arrests
Homan, whose arrival followed the departure of the Trump
administration’s on-the-ground leader of the operation, Border
Patrol chief Greg Bovino, also seemed to suggest a renewed focus on
what ICE calls “targeted operations” focused on apprehending
immigrants who have committed crimes. He said the agency would
conduct “targeted strategic enforcement operations” prioritizing
“public safety threats.”
It remains to be seen whether ICE's renewed focus on “targeted
operations” might reduce tensions.
ICE and Homan have long said the Trump administration's primary
focus is to arrest people in the country illegally who have a
criminal history or pose a threat to public safety. But they
acknowledge they'll also arrest anyone else found to be in the U.S.
illegally.
They argue that ICE operations target specific people, as opposed to
carrying out indiscriminate raids where officers round up everyone
and demand their papers.
Sameera Hafiz, policy director with the Immigrant Legal Resource
Center, said Homan's comments seemed to reflect a recognition that
public opinion has turned against ICE, but she questioned his
argument that carrying out targeted operations would make the
country safer.
“His comments still seem to be based on the false premise that
deporting people or deportation will make our community safer,” she
said. “All the evidence and data has shown that deportations don’t
make our communities safer. They destabilize families, they tear
communities apart, they hurt our economy.”
Homan didn't give a specific timeline for how long he would stay in
Minnesota.
“I’m staying until the problem’s gone,” he said, adding that he has
met with community, law enforcement and elected leaders in the hopes
of finding common ground and suggested that he’s made some progress.
___
Santana reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Tim
Sullivan in Minneapolis, Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey, and
Steven Sloan in Washington contributed.
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